Reuniting friends worth millions

UPI News Service, 11/07/2005

Putting old friends back in touch may be worth millions to a British couple.

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Julie and Steve Pankhurst set up the Friends Reunited Web site five years ago in a back bedroom of their home north of London. The could make $53 million if a deal to sell the Web site to ITV goes through.

The other founder, Jason Porter, stands to make a similar amount from the deal, which currently values the site at more than $176 million, the London Telegraph reported.

The final price tag could go up to as much as $310 million depending on the performance of the business over the next few years, the newspaper said.

The deal with ITV could be unveiled by the end of the month.

The site has more than 12 million registered users and profits have soared after the business branched out into areas such as genealogy and Internet dating in 2003.

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